Neck-seal sizing template



April 4, 1961 AR. CAMPANILE NECK-SEAL SIZING TEMPLATE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 29, 1959 4 @999 WHM INVENTOR. flmo/Q @iWdm/e BY avhu. {2%

April 4, 1961 A. R. CAMPANILE 2,977,684

NECK-SEAL SIZING TEMPLATE Filed June 29, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN VENTOR. v

United States Patent v 2,977,684 NECK-SEAL SIZING TEMPLATE Arnold R. Campanile, Aidan, Pa.,. assignor. to the United States of America as represented by'the Secretaryof The invention described herein may be manufactured and used by or for the Government of the United States of America for governmental purposes without the payment of any royalties thereon or therefor.

This invention relates to a measuring device for use by parachute riggers in sizing and atfixing the neck-seals to the flying anti-exposure suits worn for protection against cold water exposure. The neck-seal is a frusto-conical sleeve of rubber or other suitable impermeable material secured at its base to the shoulders of the suit.

Heretofore, the neck seal of the outer suit was individually sized by the rigger. He first would measure the circumference of the neck of the man who is to wear the suit. He then would subtract two and one-half inches from this value, since experience has shown that the neck-seal or collar has to be this much smaller for good sealing, and divide the resulting difference by two. He then would lay the suit out flat so that the top edges of the neck-seal coincided. Measuring along the periph= cry of the seal a distance equal to the value calculated above, the rigger would mark a point on the edge of the seal. Finally, he would cut along the curved line which followed the contour of the edge of the neck seal to the designated point.

The method briefly described above left a good deal to guess work as to the neck-seal size and could easily occasion errors in the fitting of the neck seal. This method was tedious and personnel, designated to perform the sizing, would frequently resort to trial and error in determining the current fit. This resultedin an over-trimming of the seals whereby the entire neck-seal had to be replaced which takes six to eight hours.

An object of this invention is to furnish a means for a proper and simplified method of neck-seal sizing.

Another object is to provide a device by which an untrimmed neck-seal on an anti-exposure suit may be sized with the precision required to make it tight enough to insure protection against water seepage and yet be comfortable enough for long hours of wear.

Other objects and many of the attendant advantages of this invention will be readily appreciated as the same becomes better understood by reference to the following detailed description which is considered in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein:

The template or gage, as shown by the drawings, is the preferred form, although variations as to form can be made and manufactured to obtain the same result.

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the described template or gage showing both the front and back plates.

Figure 2 is a face view of an anti-exposure suit, showing the backing plate extending into the neck or collar portion of the suit.

Figure 3 shows the template in place on the antiexposure suit.

The template or gage 1 consists of a top plate 3 and a bottom plate 5. These plates are made of aluminum, leather, rubber or any other suitable material that can readily be bent to fit snugly in the neck portion of the 'ice . 2 anti-exposure suit without breaking and which readily assumes its original'shape.

Referring to Fig. 1, the top plate 3'has inthe preferred embodiment a shape or contour substantially as shown. This enables it to fit snugly into the neck portion of the anti-exposure suit 45 (Fig. 3). The top portion 7 of the plate 3 is substantially an isosceles trianglewith an altitude of approximately seven and seven-sixteenth inches and the angle 9 at the apex-11 being about 52.

The sides 13 and 18 of the top portion 7 of the template extend downwardly from the apex 11 terminating in two arcuate sections 20 and 19, respectively. These curves indicate within a close approximation the place on the human form where the neck joins with the shoulder. The radii of these curves approximates two and one-half inches to coincide with that of a standard neckseal on an anti-exposure suit. v

The base 22 of the template is of curved configuration, the arc having a radius of about six and one-half inches. This arc is joined to the arcuate sections 20 and 19 by the straight edges 21 and 23. In order to effect a tight pressure seal, the juncture 25 and 27 are rounded off with arcs of small radii.

The apex 11 of the triangular top section 7 is also rounded oif so as to make the template easier to handle. A hole 29 is drilled through plates 3 and 5. The back plate 5 is fastened to the top plate by means of the pin or stud 33 or the like.

A series of grooves 35, having sides or shoulders 37, are cut on the sides 13 and 18 of the plate 3. The grooves on one side are aligned with the grooves on the other side by means of the holes 41 disposed between them. These grooves and holes define different neck length portions on the template, as measured from thelocking stud 33 to and each groove, each portion corre sponds to a different neck circumference. The grooves. are marked by the numerals l4, l5, l6, and l7,'"

etc., which numbers indicate the size of the neck-seal.

To size the neck-seal Referring to Figure 2 the seal 43 is untrimmed when the suit 45 is issued. The circumference of the neck of the man who is to wear the suit is then measured. As suming this measurement to be fourteen and one-half inches, the plate 5 is positioned into the neck of the suit (Fig. 2). This enables the rubberized neck-seal 43 to be held taut. The sizing plate 3 which is calibrated in one-half inch sizes is placed above the neck-seal. The pivot points of the two plates are aligned by placing the pin 33 through the hole 29 (Fig. 3). Guide lines are marked along the second line of grooves 35 and holes 41 corresponding to a neck size of fourteen and one-half. The plates are then removed and the seal is finally trimmed with a sharp shears along those lines.

The neck-seals sized with the invention have been found to be tight enough to insure protection against water seepage yet comfortable enough for long hours to wear.

Obviously many modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in the light of the above teachings. It is therefore to be understood that within the scope of the appended claims the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described herein.

What is claimed is:

1. An apparatus for use in sizing neck-seals on antiexposure suits, comprisinga fiattthree-sided plate, two sides being straight and intersecting at less than a right angle, the third side being arcuate shaped and joined to the free ends of said first-named two sides by straight portions, said plate having a hole located proximate the point of intersection of said two sides, said first-named two sides having a series of grooves located at a progress Patented Apr. 4, 1961 3 sively increasing distance from said hole, the distance of each groove from said hole being equal to a predetermined standard neck size; a bottom plate of substantially the same size and shape as the top plate; and meansfor pivotally fastening the two plates together.

2. A device for sizing a sleeve-like neck-seal on an anti-exposure suit comprising a triangular-like bottom plate adapted to be inserted into said neck-seal from Within said suit to fill the neck opening therein and have its apex extend therethrough, a top plate of similar size and shape for mounting externally of said neck-seal in superimposed relation with said bottom plate and having notches therethrough corresponding to neck opening sizes, and means pivotall y securing said plates together.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 808.511 Cochran Dec. 26, 1905 1,325,097 Lalor Dec. 16, 1919 2,533,295 Starbuck Dec. 12, 1950 2,715,775 Nakashian Aug. 23, 1955 

